Why is the image of a bird so important in Uzbek fabrics and jewelry? Why were silk fabrics so popular? What was the peculiarity of the applied art practiced by various ethnic groups living on the territory of Uzbekistan? The answers to all these questions can be found on the pages of the book-album, which presents the masterpieces of the art of Uzbekistan in the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography. Some of the published artifacts are those collected by the expedition of Samuel Dudin, an ethnographer, artist, photographer and traveler who was among the founders of the Ethnographic Museum. The most valuable rarities presented on the pages of the volume were made in the court workshops of the Bukhara emirs and then sent to St. Petersburg as gifts to members of the royal family, in the late 1890s. These are most richly embroidered clothes, luxurious gift weapons and horse harness and gold jewelry that can adorn even queens. All together they demonstrate the highest level of palace art in Bukhara. Along with items for the nobility, the volume also includes examples of folk art that are not inferior to the former in their artistic quality. This category includes ceramics, textiles and metal items produced by ordinary artisans - Uzbeks, Karakalpaks and Bukharan Jews.